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A Mystery Solved

November 2, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Brookville, Delaware Township, Featured 7 Comments Tags: cemeteries

A Guest Post by Pamela Jean Milam
Great Granddaughter of Jane Bell Lockerbie Wilson

Last April, I received an email from a reader, Pamela Milam, describing a tragic incident in her family’s history. I was struck by how unusual and dramatic it was and encouraged her to write it up. But she knew it needed more research, so she set to work. Each version she sent me was better than the previous one, and in time she finished the story, as it is presented here. I hope Pamela’s experience will encourage others to consider writing up a chapter of their own family history. It can be very rewarding.

Aristocratical Stocktons

October 19, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Anderson, Featured, Hunterdon County, Stockton 2 Comments Tags: early legislation, politics, portraits, The Revolution

Party Politics in 1803

Recently, my son, Ben Zimmer, sent me a clipping that a friend of his had found in the Trenton True American for March 7, 1803. This friend, Barry Popik, was researching the expression “Uncle Sam,” (see “New Light on “Uncle Sam”), and had found an instance of its use in this letter to the editor:

Sandbrook Hostilities

October 6, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Featured, Higgins, Sandbrook 6 Comments Tags: crime and punishment

My next article on the proposed route of the Delaware Flemington Railroad is not ready for publication. However, a few years after the railroad company collapsed, one of the company’s directors found himself confronted by an angry man.

Kessler & Co.

September 21, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Case, Delaware Township, Featured 2 Comments Tags: railroads

This is part two of my series on the Delaware Flemington Railroad Company. Part One was Egbert T. Bush’s history of how this company failed. He provided us with lots of information derived from the company papers that had been saved. But so many questions were raised, and not addressed, starting with the people who thought up the idea and promoted the company.

“Old-Time Debates”

September 8, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Featured, Historians Revisited No Comments Tags: old ways, politics, portraits

The next presidential debate for Democratic candidates is coming up on September 12^th. In light of that and also with thoughts about the kind of discourse Americans are having these days, it seemed appropriate to publish Mr. Bush’s article on a practice that went out of fashion long ago—local debating societies. Somehow it was possible for 19^th-century neighbors to dispute current issues without making enemies of each other.

The Railroad That Wasn’t Built

August 31, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, E. T. Bush, Featured, Flemington, Historians Revisited, Prallsville 1 Comment Tags: railroads

This article by Egbert T. Bush caught my attention because it is reminiscent of PennEast’s attempt to dig a pipeline across Delaware Township and other parts of Hunterdon and Mercer Counties. The big difference here is that many landowners along the proposed route of this railroad supported it because they expected real benefits, whereas PennEast’s pipeline is likely to do more harm than good.

The Deremer-Wilson Farm

August 17, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Deremer, Featured, Sandy Ridge, Wilson No Comments Tags: architecture, Daniel Coxe, early settlers, houses, land titles, maps, portraits, proprietors

or Dilts Farm Revisited, part two

Part one focused on the family of Judson Rittenhouse and Martha Bodine, who lived on the farm now known as the Sarah Dilts Farm Park in Delaware Township for most of their lives. The farm was purchased by Judson’s father, Wilson Bray Rittenhouse, in 1844. This article will first describe Wilson and his family, and then will trace the history of this property back to the first European owner.

The Rittenhouse-Dilts Farm

August 3, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Dilts, Dilts Corner, Featured, Rittenhouse 7 Comments Tags: farming, Going, houses, portraits, roads

or Dilts Farm, Revisited

This is a return to an article I wrote in 2012 about the family that used to own what is known today as the Sarah Dilts Farm Park. Some wonderful photographs have come my way that have inspired me to take a second look.

Shrinking Township, part 2

July 19, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, East Amwell, Featured, Hunterdon County No Comments Tags: early legislation, land titles, local government, politics, roads

In my previous post (A Shrinking Township, part one), I wrote about a petition in 1896 to take a large chunk out of Delaware Township and give it to East Amwell Township. That petition was signed by two East Amwell residents, William H. Manners and Simpson Sked Stout. This post will describe these two, as well as the journey the bill took through the legislature, and the property owners who were affected by it.

A Shrinking Township

July 6, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, East Amwell, Featured, Headquarters No Comments Tags: early legislation, politics

On November 18, 1896, two gentlemen from East Amwell Township announced in the Hunterdon Republican newspaper that they would petition the state legislature to change the boundary between East Amwell and Delaware Townships. It was a fairly radical change they were proposing, in which Delaware Township yielded to East Amwell a large chunk from its eastern border and Delaware got nothing in return. On April 17, 1897, the State Legislature followed through and passed a bill to make that happen.

A Guest Post by Pamela Jean Milam Great Granddaughter of Jane Bell Lockerbie Wilson

Party Politics in 1803

or Dilts Farm Revisited, part two

or Dilts Farm, Revisited

A Guest Post by Pamela Jean Milam
Great Granddaughter of Jane Bell Lockerbie Wilson